Saturday, November 21, 2015

When Words Hurt

We must pray protection over the minds and hearts of our care recipients, because the devil has no compunctions about using the vulnerabilities caused by disease as conduits for his attacks.

My mother's infrequent bouts of verbal abuse almost always happen while I am cleaning up a toileting mess, and
though I do my best to be cheerful and matter of fact, she feels embarrassed.
It is my theory that embarrassment triggers defensiveness, but whatever the cause, it is soul withering to have someone who is supposed to
love me spew words so hateful and hurtful that I’m brought to tears, especially
when I’m often on my hands and knees scrubbing waste from the floor when it occurs.At times like these I’m helped
somewhat to recognize that in her right mind, Mom would never treat me
like this. When hatred flows through her toward me, its source is from the
enemy, and the Lord is my shelter from evil attacks. It helps to pray for Mom
while she is being hateful. This keeps me from responding in kind, and
sometimes defuses her attack.

In the past few weeks I've kept a list of some other situations that trigger Mom's negative behaviors and the solutions that have worked for us. I hope these help others:

Even if you were able to be a perfect caregiver,
your care recipient would still sometimes exhibit negative behaviors. Dementia
patients are often influenced more strongly by inward cues rather than
environmental cues. This means that physical discomfort or negative thoughts
can have a stronger influence on patient responses than anything we as
caregivers can do to reassure or comfort.

Don’t try to reason with an angry
dementia patient. I have learned that my mother will cling to her emotion with
the tenacity of one who has lost everything but what she knows she feels. The
emotion is real to her, and no logical reasoning or kind words can make a dent
in her conviction that her anger is justified.Much more effective are strategies of distraction such as offering an
appetizing snack or a showing a favorite movie.

Lying is not ok, and we should never
make promises we do not intend to keep, but some of us have a commitment to
strict accuracy of detail that is not helpful in dealing with a dementia
patient. For example, when dementia patients refer to deceased loved ones in
the present tense, it is cruel to continually remind them that the loved ones
have passed away. Another category of appropriate stretching of the truth is when
the patient balks at some practice that is necessary for health and well-being.
I tell my mom, who resists bathing, that the doctor has prescribed a daily
sponge bath to help protect her from skin rashes (she doesn’t have rashes, and
the doctor didn’t say she should bathe—though he would probably agree if I
asked him!). Mom can’t take instruction from me, but, like many of her
generation, a doctor’s orders carry authority for her.

When memory of the immediate past is
nonexistent, a dementia patient has only the present moment. Mom knows that when her digital clock
says 12:00, she should receive lunch. If I am late with her lunch only one time
in a six month period, she will ask, “Why is my lunch always late?”And she is
angry because in her mind this situation is not acceptable.My best strategy is to apologize, promise to do
better, and to know that in five minutes Mom will have no memory of my
perceived negligence.

My mom was and is a positive and Christ-centered person. She often, even now, expresses love and appreciation for me. I must not allow her Alzheimer's-related negative behaviors to compromise my ability to love and appreciate her for what she has been and even for what she often is still, despite her disease.

It is helpful for us as Christian caregivers to remember that hatred has its source from the enemy of our souls. We must pray for the ability to love our care recipients with God's love and continue to pray for them, even when the enemy uses their vulnerabilities to aim his poisonous barbs toward us.

4 comments:

Linda, You are so right. I can learn a lot from your compassionate Christian spirit. It's still tough for me at times to handle the behavioral changes, as well as the responsibilities placed upon me now. I DO have a great deal to be grateful for, though. God is good; God is faithful, and He cares about me and my problems.

Beth, I'm praying for you in your caregiving right now; you are obviously a great blessing to those who love and need you. I have to say that I don't feel compassionate in the midst of one of Mom's negative spells, and don't always respond as I should. And it is hard to "shake it off" and not let my hurt heart dictate my attitude toward Mom in the wake of one of her verbal attacks. It's grace alone that enables me to take one step back and listen to the Lord's guidance. Remembering to pray for Mom is the very best thing I do for her but it also helps me. Hugs and prayers, Linda

I know I continually tell you how amazed I am at the grace God gives you...but it continues to be the consistent thread I see in your posts. God is providing all you need for this hard, hard situation and here you are blessing others with what He is doing in and through you. I'm so thankful for what I learn through you! Georgene

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About Me

If my mom hadn't gotten Alzheimer's, I would never have written a book
for caregivers. If I hadn't lost the reading program that meant so much
to me, I wouldn't have taken early retirement from my teaching job. If I
hadn't already had author status, I'd never have written a novel that
is a tribute to how much I loved teaching kids to read. If God hadn't
kept my heart's needs in mind through the sorrows He allowed, a
traditional publishing company never would have picked up either of my
books. And if I hadn't become overweight, I'd never have learned about God's mercy and grace in a way that would help others and free me from a lifelong case of self-condemnation. I am grateful, and have peace in the understanding that God truly
does work all things together for good.